Season's Change
by Song Of A Free Heart
Summary: Season's AU Change is never easy. The change of seasons is inevitable. But that doesn't mean the Winter Spirit has to like it. Gift for Completelytwitterpated on tumblr.


**Hey, look at that. I wrote a seasonal Big 4 story! Part of my gift for Completelytwitterpated on tumblr. I was her Secret Santa. **

_Seasons Change_

Jack sat on one of the bare branches over the pond in Burgess. One leg hung down in midair, foot tapping to an imagined rhythm in his own head. His head leaned back against the trunk of the tree as he looked out at his work. In the moonlight the ice on the surface of the pond, and the snow on the ground glittered like diamonds. Even after three hundred years he never lost a sense of wonder at what his handiwork could create. A "winter wonderland" as some people called it.

And much as he loved listening to the laughter of children as they played in the snow, he could appreciate the beauty of a quiet, snowy night.

This one was coming to an end, though.

He looked out at the eastern horizon, where the sky had begun to fade from black to shades of blue and grey. As he watched, the sun began to rise above the black shadow of the horizon, so light spilled into the valley where the town of Burgess was nestled.

Taking a deep breath, Jack leaned back against the tree trunk to enjoy the last few minutes of silence before the first bird would chirp and the town came back to life for another day.

But the sound that reached him a moment later wasn't the sound of a bird. It was a voice. Warm as sunlight, singing words he couldn't make out from the distance, but still familiar.

"Oh, no," he muttered, standing up on the branch and looking at the forest around him. "No!"

He shook his head as he saw the golden tendrils of light spreading vine-like through the trees, bringing with it a warmth that Burgess hadn't known since the Autumn turn from the heat of Summer to the frost of Winter.

As the warmth spread through the air, the trees around Jack seemed to sigh and relief. He almost felt a snowflake melt on a nearby tree, slide, drip and splash down to the snow gathered on the ground below.

His grip tightened on his staff and the wind picked him up off the branch. It carried him through the tendrils of light that continued to spread further through trees. Jack followed them to his heart, dodging trees and doing his best to avoid the warmth, which became harder the further he went. The air around him grew warmer and brighter until he came to a small clearing deep in the heart of the forest, where the snow had already melted away to reveal lush green grass scattered with brilliant wild flowers. The trees just at the edge of the clearing were already blooming with flowers and new leaves. It would be a few weeks before the rest of the forest matched this clearing, but Spring had a fortress in the woods, and Winter was going to lose eventually. As he did every year.

And all of it – the light, the warmth, and the song that initially alerted him – came from the same source. The source being the small blond figure currently seated on top of a boulder near the center of a clearing. Her voice was bright and clear as she pulled a brush through her seemingly endless locks of hair that glowed with all the light of the sun.

The brush seemed to gather the light in her hair, and each stroke sent another vine of light out amongst the trees.

Jack's jaw clenched, and he almost glared at the purple butterfly that fluttered around her. Her green eyes followed it, her lips spreading in a smile, but she never stopped singing. And if she saw him, she showed no sign of it.

"You're early, Rapunzel" he said, not paying any mind to the fact he was interrupting her song. "Again."

She finally stopped singing. The light of her hair dimmed a little, but it didn't fade. And she didn't stop brushing her hair, and each stroke continued to send another tendril of light out into the forest.

"You say that every year," she said. Her smile didn't fade.

_Swoosh_

Another brush stroke. Another tendril of light swirled from her hair, out into the air. The way it move, twisting and turning, reminded him a little of Sandy's Dream Sand – or a rapidly growing vine. This one was more erratic than most, and it dipped close to the earth, grazing the grass before it turned upward again and vanished into the forest.

A crocus bloomed from the spot where the light had touched.

Jack looked back at Rapunzel. "Because you're early every year."

"Not really," she said. "You just don't like letting go."

"I spent three months working on this!" He said, gesturing at the winter landscape behind him.

But he didn't have to look to know it was already fading. The glasslike frost he had incased the tree trunks in so they wouldn't look so bare had already melted, and the snow caught the branches continued to drip down. Each drop of water, each melted snowflake, would erode the layer of snow he had blanketed the ground with, until it would all be gone and he would be forced to move on so Rapunzel would have her time to reign over the forest for a season, until Hiccup would come to take her crown.

"Jack, it's already March."

He couldn't respond to that, since they both knew this was when she was supposed to begin her work.

"And we both know you drive Merida out weeks before the equinox." She finally stopped brushing her hair, and set the brush on the rock beside her.

"Once the leaves fall there's no point for her to stick around," he said.

Rapunzel shook her head, giggling while Jack continued to frown. From the corner of his eye he saw her raise her hand to her mouth. Her lips pressed briefly against her fingertips, and she blew the kiss in his direction.

Her breath sent a cloud of light washing over him. The warmth made him stumble back, a shiver shooting up his spine as the essence that was the opposite of his own embraced him before it continued on into the forest.

"You have places to be, Jack," she said. "It's not as though I'm sending you into exile for nine months."

Jack glared at her, still recovering.

Her smile was still in place as she got down from the boulder. Forget-me-nots began to bloom under her foot from the moment her toe touched the ground. She came toward him, her hair whispering in the grass as it trailed behind her. The silk of her dress swayed with every move. She came to a stop right in front of him, still smiling as she looked up at him.

She was so small, Jack noticed.

Their eyes locked for a time, though Jack couldn't begin to measure it. Her gaze was soft, and at this distance the floral perfume that emanated from her was almost heady. If anyone asked, that was the only reason he would claim that he didn't move for so long.


End file.
